Yesterday the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office charged Ryan Adams, 19, with 2nd degree assault and other felonies stemming from a police chase Tuesday morning.
Police officers were patrolling Marisol Manor Way just outside of Eureka around 5 a.m. in response to reports of individuals stealing from cars in the area.
When police arrived, suspects fled, some on foot and others in cars. Police say that Adams took off in a stolen Honda Pilot.
According to a Eureka Police Department detective's probable cause statement, officers caught up to Adams as he headed north on Highway 109, near the intersection of East Fourth Street, near Highway 44.
Adams didn't stop when officers activated their sirens. He then struck several vehicles at the intersection of 109 and East Fourth, one of which was a police patrol vehicle.
After hitting multiple cars, Adams continued to flee, hitting an officer as he did so. The officer, who has not been identified, suffered a broken leg.
According to the probable cause statement, Adams then, "continued to travel at a high rate of speed and crashed into a parked vehicle."
He then fled into a nearby apartment complex.
A manager at the apartment complex notified police of a suspicious person in the complex's lobby. When police arrived, Adams attempted to flee once more, but was arrested soon thereafter.
After his arrest, the probable cause statement says that Adams confessed to being the driver of the Honda Pilot involved in the multiple crashes. Police say the car had been stolen from Sunset Hills.
In addition to the assault charge, Ryan is also facing charges of resisting arrest for a felony, resisting arrest by fleeing, and tampering with a motor vehicle. His bond is set at $200,000.
"If these claims are true this defendant is fortunate he didn't kill someone, including himself, in his attempt to evade police," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a statement to the media. "We have every intention of holding him accountable."
The RFT has reached out to Bell's office for more information about the suspect and for dash cam video of the incident. We will update the story as new information becomes available.
